Full Circle
by Marquise de Nile
Summary: [Femslash February 2020] Anko. Sakura. Before and after. Two encounters, dealing with the past and building the future.


Written for Femslash February 2020

Prompts: give up, denim

Pairing: Anko/Sakura

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**Full Circle**

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The sexy and beautiful Mitarashi Anko was great at many things, usually having something to do with maiming and torture. She knew how to get under the skin of her targets, slip under their guard and into their minds, then strip them bare of all their secrets. Alternatively, she threatened them with her snakes, that usually did the trick. Whatever worked best, she would do it, she was flexible like this when the situation called for it. No wonder she bragged that she could touch her heels when she did a back bend.

What Anko didn't know was what to do with an itty-bitty pink-haired genin standing in her way with a determined look on her little face.

"What do you want, kid?" Anko asked bluntly, fingering her new senbon pack as she fought off the trained reflex to turn anyone that even slightly inconvenienced her into a pincushion.

"Anko-san, right? You probably don't remember me, but I was in the chunin exams when you were a proctor. I'm Haruno Sakura. Tsunade-sama's apprentice," the girl introduced herself.

Actually, Anko remembered her, it was hard not to. She was one of Kakashi's cute ducklings and a teammate of that moody Uchiha kid that had gotten a little love bite with a cursed seal as a bonus and then had run off to that bastard for more power. Ugh.

Anko crossed her arms. "Whatever, I have shit to do, so cut to the chase, kid. I don't have all day."

A fire lit up in the girl's clear green eyes. Anko had a bad feeling. She knew that look and it only meant something _fucking annoying_ was coming her way. (Boss Nara would simply call it troublesome, but she wasn't a boring old man playing shogi _for fun_.)

"Teach me," the kid implored. "Teach me how to beat Orochimaru."

Anko lost it. She doubled over, howling with laughter.

"You? You want to fight Orochimaru? And beat him?" She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. "Man, do they make genin stupider these days or what?"

The girl looked like she ate a lemon. "I'm serious! Please teach me. I heard you were his apprentice. You must know something about his strengths and weaknesses."

Anko straightened up again, her momentary amusement gone with the mention of her past relationship with that bastard. That was where she drew a line at tomfoolery. The girl wanted serious, she'd get serious.

"Kid, Orochimaru is a freak of nature. And a real genius of ninjutsu. Whatever I know of him is a decade out of date. Go home."

"Anko-san, please, he has Sasuke-kun! I need you to teach me so I can rescue him!" the girl still insisted, like she didn't understand a word of what Anko had said to her.

The jounin scowled, getting mad. This was becoming ridiculous.

"Kid, what rescue are you talking about?! From what I hear that Uchiha brat _defected_. He joined the bastard out of his own free will. Traitors don't get rescued, they get _eliminated_ like they fucking deserve."

"E-Eliminated? No… but we promised to save him… that can't be true…" Blood drained from the girl's face and she turned ghostly pale as she stared up in disbelief at her. Anko would have felt bad for the poor, delusional genin if she had any feelings to spare, but her deficiency of caring was permanent and incurable, so she just shrugged it off. That's just what happened when you were smacked in the face with a brutal reality check.

"Let me give you a little advice," Anko leaned in towards the shocked girl. "Give up, kid," she told her straight to the face. "There's nothing I can teach you about Orochimaru, besides don't you have Tsunade for that? She was his teammate, wasn't she? Just let her teach you how to crush mountains with your pinky or flatten the forest like a pancake. Then we can go together traitor-hunting if you're still interested," Anko suggested with a feral grin.

Sakura shuddered, but didn't back down. The fierce light returned to her eyes. "No! I won't give up on Sasuke-kun so easily!"

"Bad choice, really," Anko replied, shaking her head, then sidestepped around the genin. "Well, you just study hard with Tsunade, kid, and I'll ring you up when I figure out how to beat Orochimaru. See ya!"

She shunshined away from the aggravating little pink blob, then changed direction and made a beeline to her favourite dango shop. She was in a desperate need of a pick me up. Anko couldn't believe she discussed going after Orochimaru with an unfledged genin, Tsunade's apprentice or not! _Hell no! _Better forget this had ever happened.

Thankfully, the girl took some of Anko's advice and left her alone, concentrating solely on the apprenticeship with Tsunade. Anko didn't cross paths with the pink menace again for many years, but Konoha wasn't that big. Bumping into each other was bound to happen someday.

The Fourth War was but a memory by then and the lasting peace among the nations basically put her out of the job. Orochimaru was contained by the village and no amount of begging and cajoling could get Anko close enough to finally shank the bastard (she swore it was all Kakashi's fault. Damn that smug one-eyed masked party pooper.)

Her best friend, Kurenai, popped out a baby and was so busy with diaper-changing and all that motherly shizz that she had no time to hang out with Anko anymore. Maybe that was for the best, she'd be a bad influence on the tyke.

Everything was boring and peaceful, there were no new prisoners to interrogate and Anko was too keyed up to devise another brilliant plan to achieve her revenge on the snake. Instead, she restlessly prowled the streets of Konoha, looking for something, anything she could do. She was munching on dango, the sweet flavor filling her mouth and calming her mood like a horse tranquilizer, when she saw someone interesting.

Some babe in a red tunic was browsing through skirts at the clothing stall. She was putting some of them against her hips in order to decide which to buy without actually trying them on.

"Get the denim one, it will look good on your butt," Anko's foul tongue activated, giving unsolicited advice before she thought it through.

The woman jolted and whirled around. Surprised clear green eyes landed on Anko, mesmerizing her. She cursed herself internally for not recognizing that pink hair sooner. But how could she be blamed, the last time she checked, it belonged to some headache-inducing, scrawny genin. Not this… sex on legs.

"You're not a kid," Anko stated dumbly.

Sakura cocked her hip and put a hand on it. "You thought you were saying _that_ to a _kid_?" she asked in disbelief.

Anko winced. Right, that butt comment made her sound all kinds of bad. "No, _hell no_. I just thought it was some hot chick, not you," she backtracked, belatedly realizing she again put a foot in her mouth. She couldn't help it though, Sakura really wasn't that kid anymore, she was a grown up bombshell of a woman and Anko still couldn't get over that.

Sakura's brow scrunched up as she regarded her with narrowed eyes, fists clenching and releasing with indecision. "I can't figure out whether you just called me ugly or hot," she said slowly. "If it was the former, I would deck you."

Anko's eyes gleamed eagerly. "Then if it was hot, would you come with me for some drinks? Uh, I mean, coffee?" she proposed, since it was still too early for sake. "We could catch up."

Sakura pinned her with a hard look, then shrugged. "Only if you're paying," she stipulated and Anko nodded.

"You know, I meant it about that denim skirt, take it. It will really look good on you," she added.

Sakura hummed thoughtfully and examined the piece of clothing in question again. Then she folded it and took it to the seller.

Two minutes later, Sakura joined Anko and they walked side by side to a nearby café. They placed their orders and settled on the opposite sides in a booth. Sakura put her shopping bag on the seat next to her, then looked at Anko inquisitively.

"You wanted to catch up?" she reminded.

Anko startled, realizing that she was caught staring. "Right! Sooo… how's it going?" she asked with a chuckle to mask her awkwardness.

Sakura shrugged. "Not bad. We have peace."

"Yeah… that's the worst. I'm so bored most of the time. There's no work for me!"

Anko's outburst of frustration made the other kunoichi blink. "I didn't think about it before, but it makes sense… So you're free most of the time?" she asked.

"Pretty much…" Anko confirmed with a morose sigh.

"Then what do you do? Any hobbies?"

"Not really…" Anko replied, frowning. Their coffees arrived and Sakura poured sugar in hers, then took a dainty sip. Anko didn't touch hers, she wasn't really that thirsty. Instead, she discreetly took in Sakura, when a brilliant thought occurred to her. "Say, you were Kakashi's student and he's been a real bother to me recently…" she said.

Sakura looked at her in surprise. "Kakashi-sensei? What did he do?"

Anko scowled darkly into her coffee before raising her eyes to the other woman. "He's protecting that lowlife Orochimaru from justice. Killing the bastard would be a community service at this point and _he won't let me_," she gritted out.

"Oh," Sakura muttered in understanding. "I'm sorry."

And that was it. Anko knew that she wouldn't get any help. It was a long shot anyway. In the silence, they both contemplated the absolute unfairness of it all.

"For the record, I was against letting him go, but all the villages decided to take his offer and let him live," Sakura informed her with an anxious look.

"I know. The slippery bastard got away again," Anko said and sighed in defeat, closing her eyes.

A warm touch on her hand made her open them in surprise. Sakura gave her a light, reassuring squeeze.

"That doesn't mean the battle is over. Old habits die hard, you know. The moment he puts one toe out of line…"

"… I will be waiting," Anko finished with a bloodthirsty grin. "And take his head off."

Sakura smiled back. "Exactly. Don't give up."

She took back her hand and Anko found herself already wishing the touch lasted a little longer. She leaned back in her seat, more relaxed, and tried the coffee. _Too strong_, she thought with a grimace and set it down.

"Well, at least everything worked out for you. You got back your teammate. I didn't think it would be possible," she remarked lightly.

Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes, that was like a miracle. I'm glad Sasuke-kun is okay now," she said modestly.

Anko pierced her with a hawk-like stare. "So, anything going on between you two?" she asked candidly.

Sakura jolted, a few drops of her coffee spilling on the table. "What, me and Sasuke-kun? No. It's not like that… He's a very dear friend of mine now, but that's all," she explained as she wiped the stains with a bunch of paper napkins.

Anko internally cheered, but that didn't mean there wasn't anyone else in the way. Better double check if she actually needed to get her assassination kit from storage. "Oh, so you're 'too busy for romance' kind of gal?" she teased.

Sakura frowned. "Kind of… I've really got a lot of work," she admitted despondently. "What about you, Anko-san? Any success in love?"

"Nope! I am completely single!" Anko announced with a broad smile. "But I'm always up for a bit of fun with a right person," she added, giving her a suggestive wink. She noted with pleasure a subtle pinkening on Sakura's cheeks.

"I-I see," Sakura mumbled and reached for her coffee. Anko let her have a moment of peace to compose herself before changing the topic to something less personal. Fashion. Clothes were good.

They chatted for a while, then Sakura checked her watch and put down her empty cup on the table. "Sorry, I need to get going," she said regretfully.

Anko nodded in understanding. "Duty calls, right?"

"Right. It was great to talk to you, Anko-san." Sakura bit her lip, thinking something over, then she fished a pen out of her purse and wrote an address on a napkin. "Here."

Anko picked it up in a daze. She couldn't quite believe her luck. Did she just get invited to Sakura's place? After all that lame flirting and constantly putting her foot in it? "Aww, are you going to miss me so much that you already want me to visit?" she joked.

Sakura gave her a slow, careful once over, then smirked. "Maybe."

This time it was Anko's turn to flush at the unexpected flirtation. She was blindsided!

"Actually, I'm starting a children's mental health clinic. I could use your help there," Sakura offered in all seriousness.

Anko gaped at her. "You would allow me around kids?"

"Don't worry, they don't bite. Most of the time," Sakura answered blithely. "You said you were bored at work. These kids are war orphans. I think with your own experiences your advice would be really useful in the clinic." She checked her watch again and hissed. "Shizune will kill me!" Sakura grabbed her shopping bag and stood up. "Please, just think about it, Anko-san. That's all I ask. See you!" she threw the last words over her shoulder as she left the café in a hurry.

Anko watched her go, then looked at the address pensively. After a moment, she crumbled the napkin into a ball and threw it across the room straight into the trash bin. Score! Ha!

At leisure, Anko stretched, paid the bill, and ambled out of the café, hands in pockets of her trench coat. She walked the streets of Konoha until she stopped in front of a new building. She looked at the freshly painted, cheerful yellow walls and read the gleaming sign.

_Children's Mental Health Clinic in Konoha._

_Kids_. Anko mentally sighed. She wasn't so sure she'd be any good at dealing with them, but she supposed Sakura wouldn't let her traumatize the munchkins even more. Just having the opportunity to see her every day was worth giving this a try.

Well, at least Ibiki wouldn't lose any more hair because of her. Anko trembled with quiet snickers at her own joke and turned back. She had some paperwork to fill and a superior to shock into a cardiac arrest.

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AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. I'll really appreciate any comments on this story.

In February I'm accepting femslash prompts on tumblr (yangssunglasses).


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